Posts by Ellen Andrews
Mr. Lembo goes to Washington
Yesterday State Health Care Advocate Kevin Lembo testified at a Congressional hearing on health insurance company abuses — post claims underwriting and policy rescissions. That’s when an insurance company cancels a policy after consumer has been paying premiums faithfully, sometimes for years, and they get sick. The company, when faced with mounting claims, looks back…
Read MoreConcerns about new Charter Oak $100,000 annual cap
On Monday, Time magazine posted a story called “Low Health Insurance Caps Leave Patients Stranded.” The article exposes the real impact of caps as low as $1 million on individuals and families who face very serious illnesses. This issue is particularly important as the new state Charter Oak Health Plan rolls out. On the day…
Read MoreHealth First Authority update
Today’s Health First Authority meeting was uneventful. Sharon Langer from CT Voices for Children gave a primer on Medicaid and SCHIP. David Parrella from DSS gave an update on Charter Oak and the HUSKY transition (the same slides he used for Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting). DSS has developed a concept paper for an…
Read MoreMedicaid Managed Care Council update
We got a first look at the HUSKY HMOs’ provider networks at Friday’s Medicaid Managed Care Council meeting and it wasn’t good. CHN, which has been a part of HUSKY from the beginning, has robust panels of providers across the state. However, the two new HMOs – Americhoice (United) and Aetna – have a long…
Read MoreCT’s Health Partnership bill featured in NY Times article
Today’s NY Times includes an article outlining proposals to make health coverage more affordable for small businesses. Small companies pay 18% more than large businesses for the same coverage. The recent CT Healthcare Partnership bill proposing to open the state employee pool to small businesses was vetoed by the Governor; however she indicated that she…
Read MoreSinking or Swimming in the High-Risk Pool?
On the front page of the New York Times this morning, I saw an article that highlights a problem with proposals to model a new component of national healthcare coverage on states’ high-risk pools. Earlier this year, I had been looking at the Connecticut High-Risk Pool (created by the Connecticut Health Care Act of 1975).…
Read MoreBook Club — Sway
I just finished Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior by Ori and Rom Brafman. A fascinating book that details the psychological forces that keep us from making good decisions. There are dozens of great examples, but my favorite is the “twenty dollar auction”. One the first day of class, a Harvard business school professor…
Read MoreFamily Values – a small but significant gap in Connecticut’s health care system
There are a number of people who cannot get healthcare coverage in Connecticut no matter where they turn: Documented immigrants over 65 years of age who have had green cards for less than 5 years. The people affected by this gap are often parents who have come to be with their children and help raise…
Read MoreCOBRA calls to Consumer Network Helpline
In the past three weeks, the Consumer Health Action Network (888-873-4585) has received a number of calls about COBRA. COBRA (which stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) is the federal law that allows workers and their dependents to continue group health coverage at their own expense after employer coverage ends because of termination,…
Read MoreState taking applications for Charter Oak
This morning at the Town Line Diner in Rocky Hill, the state began signing up consumers for the Charter Oak Plan. The Governor held a press conference at the diner announcing the opening of the plan and two consumers filled out applications. New information includes premiums which vary between $75 and $279/month and an annual…
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